The weird thing about the market going down is that it sometimes takes a catastrophic event to kick it off (whereas you don't see that on the upside), thus making bearish predictions rather tricky (impossible really if you try to time the market based on news). On Friday there were only hints that this hurricane would slightly effect oil rigs in the Gulf and there was a mild sell off. Tonight, now that this storm has intensified and made a bee-line for New Orleans, I see oil has shot above $70 a barrel. We also come to find out that New Orleans is the major hub for oil receiving and that most of our oil rigs in the Gulf are getting slammed right now. Futures on the Dow are down $75 (I have never seen futures go that low). Tomorrow will be a very interesting day both market-wise and news-wise. Of course I hope for the best for the residents of New Orleans and Mississippi but I fear the worst.
Here's a good story in the NYT about why this hurricane caught everyone by surprise.
And another good story in the Washington Post about a nightmare scenario in New Orleans that we (humans) have brought on ourselves.
Big thanks to the other Lowbar patriarchs who put up with my pork chops this past week in DC. I think I ruptured my spleen.
